Almost a decade ago a friend asked me to join a scripture study on the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians. I was skeptical. My experience with scripture up to this point had been solely a Mass based experience. Sure there were stories from the bible that I knew, but to me they were just stories from people long dead that had no relevance for my life. Reluctantly I agreed, mainly to not hurt his feelings, but I expected to get nothing out of it. He gave me the assigned verses for the first meeting and the location and told me he would see me then. I went home that night and promptly forgot about the entire conversation.

A few days later he sent me a text to remind me about it and said that he would pick me up in an hour. In a panic I searched franticly for the verses and page numbers and thought how am I going to read all of the assignment before he came to get me. So I pulled open my bible, flipped to the verse and started reading. Minutes later I had finished the entire piece that we were going to be going through. The first thing that crossed my mind was, “Wow was that it?” I double-checked the sheet and I had read it correctly. Then a sudden sinking feeling struck me as I wondered how we were going to talk about this short, 10 verse reading for a whole hour. These thoughts were still running through my head as my friend came and picked me up. When we left bible study an hour later I was amazed not only that we had gone an hour, but also that so much could be packed into such a small reading.

That was the key. I think the reason that I was so daunted by the task of reading the bible was because I was making it too broad. Reading scripture is best when you make it simple. As Matthew Kelly said, start with the gospels. Don’t try and read one all in one sitting, but give yourself a month or two to just read one Gospel. Make it part of your morning routine. I hold a weekly morning bible study for my teens here in Missoula and find that starting with the Word helps to have it permeate in all the rest of my activities for the day. Remember that God’s Word in scripture is living. More often than not the verse I read in the morning will come up again in a conversation with a friend who needed exactly what the Lord had said to me. I know you are skeptical, but try it and I promise you will see the fruits.

Lastly I just want stress on the fact that when you read the scriptures the Catholic Church’s teachings become clearer. Everything the church teaches comes directly from scripture. If you are wondering why the church is pro-life, or asks people to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or even the teaching of the Eucharist all you have to do is look at scripture. Everything is there. We as Catholics need to become better scholars of the Word and live our lives centered around it. My challenge this Lent is for you to choose just one book of the Bible and read it, just 10 verses a night. If you finish read it again. Let the Spirit speak to you. Meditate on it and not just what it was saying back then, but what it is saying to you, now, here in this moment. I promise you that you will grow closer to God and have a better understanding of him and yourself.

After my homily this week I received an unusual email. The person informed me that never in this person’s life was scripture i.e., the bible ever taught. Later the person said that they would never ever want to begin studying the bible now. I emailed a thank you back only saying that I was trying to show that the actual teachings of Jesus have a source….and that source is the bible. I have also come to believe that this email is not unusual, but probably more than not the feelings of many of our faith community. Just the word “bible” brings fear into many a heart. I hope it will soon bring comfort, fellowship and even some humor.

While not a scripture scholar I love history. And in particular the history of our Catholic Church. Founded by Christ through apostolic succession, scripture is my link to the historical faith that I share with over 1 billion others. Catholic biblical scholarship is rich and alive! The best commentary is usually outdated in five years as we continue to use science and technology to unearth the layers of history still buried in the land of Palestine and Israel. As we unearth the layers of ground we discover more about the actual people who dwelt in the Holy Land. Knowing how the people lived, what they ate, how they traded in an agricultural society, their form of banking, and the climate that surrounded them, both physical and political, shaped they way they interpreted God’s message at the time. In particular the Jewish sense of family, humor, and even the tensions between the different spheres of Judaism speaks volumes to us today in understanding both words and deeds of the time. At times we see the human condition that repeats itself even in the times we live in now.

Seeing the bible as a library rather than one book, where each volume on the library shelf make up an entire story, allows the Catholic Christian to understand salvation history that is fluid even to this day. While the actual canon has been closed, the authors of the various books remind us that we are a pilgrim people on a journey. And our journey is no different than that of Cain, Noah, Ruth, Deborah, David, Naomi, Sarah, Elizabeth, Anna, Joachim, Solomon, and even John the Baptist and Mary; who prepared for the Christ. Vatican II calls us a “pilgrim people”, and our destination is the Kingdom prepared for us by God. Scripture, the Bible provides a journey of faith that we can all enjoy together. Catholics always receive the bible with our Catholic tradition passed down throughout the ages. And traditions have been open to reinterpretation throughout the ages. Slavery is just one of many examples. I respectfully disagree with anyone who would refuse to even in later years be open to studying the bible as an adult. I would encourage them to join a Catholic Bible study group, use the internet, or just read the four Gospels. Our style is one of chewing on God’s words, and learning the big story of our tradition and history. Happy Reading!

Reply

Linda Lozano

3/20/2014 02:57:23 pm

The Bible is something I enjoy reading and praying over. It gives ne cause for hope and at the same time questions. Happy reading indeed!